Sailor opens fire on pod of orcas in Strait of Gibraltar

A sailor opened fire on a pod of orcas after they appeared to threaten the rudder of a boat in the latest in a string of similar attacks in the Strait of Gibraltar. Around 10 shots were fired into the water with a rifle but it was not clear what kind of projectiles were used or whether any of the killer whales were hurt in the incident. Footage of the shooting, which follows hundreds of orca attacks on boats off Spain’s southern coast, were taken by tourists on a nearby cruise ship. It showed passengers shouting and jeering at the person shooting at the whales. “It was horrible. We love animals and defend orcas. We are concerned that one of the orcas may have been wounded by some of the shots,” a spokesman for Turmares, which operates the cruise ship, told the EuropaSur newspaper. The captain of the tour boat was informed that a pod of orcas had been sighted about seven miles south of Tarifa, the southernmost point of the Spanish mainland, on Thursday. Read more: #orcas #shooting #sailor #gibraltar #spain Subscribe to The Telegraph with our special offer: just £1 for 3 months. Start your free trial now: Get the latest headlines: and are websites of The Telegraph, the UK’s best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.